Back to the Beginning
by Ledabuhr
Summary: An episodic rewrite of Leda and Iyotanka's early lives beginning with their childhood in Feralas.
1. Chapter 1

(Author's Note: This fic is intended as a "reboot" of my original characters, in particular Leda and Iyotanka Savagedawn. I'm attempting an episodic history with each chapter as a snapshot into their past. Some of the details from their biography will likely be changed or altered to better reflect the more realistic approach. This fic will also attempt to establish a timeline for The Boisterous Few and their exploits. Thanks again for reading and please leave a comment!)

* * *

Feralas was never quiet. Overhead, a bird trilled in the early morning light; somewhere to her left, a treant shuffled along through the underbrush; leaves rustled with the faint salt-scented breeze drifting inland from the nearby coast. Leda adjusted her grip on the hunting spear, finding the balance near the middle. Her endlessly blue eyes followed the stag she'd been tracking for nearly an hour – it grazed lazily on a low branch, stripping it of leaves.

Her breath was too noisy so she held it. The stag continued eating. In one fluid move (as she had practiced over and over) Leda was up and the spear flung from her hand. The stag had no time to react and fell gracelessly to the ground.

"Excellent shot, little one!" the other tauren boomed. Leda only grinned and looked up at her father, who was already on his way to her first kill. "How many points does it have?"

She frowned. Hadn't the kill been her task today? Nothing was said for numbers. She hoped letters weren't next – Iyo wasn't around to whisper the answers to her. Stubbornly she crossed her arms, "It's a secret!"

Her father didn't push it, but patiently counted out the antlers, "…10, 11, 12!" Leda only rolled her eyes. If she came across any numbers Iyo would be around to figure it out – he actually liked it! "Alright then," her father unsheathed the small knife from his belt. It was the one she wasn't supposed to touch, the one with the bone handle. Now he was gesturing for her to take it, the handle pointed right at her. "It's your kill Ti'ha."

Ti'ha. Only her father ever called her that. It was short for 'Ti'hawak'echena' which meant 'Braver than the moon.'

Leda took a deep breath and reached for the knife. Her father nodded and then carefully pulled the spear from the neck of the stag. "Now to dress a deer you first have to cut around here…"

* * *

"Whoa whoa whoa, Iyo, take a breath for Mu'sha's sake!" his mother cautioned. The little tauren's mouth snapped shut and he busied himself in the little tasks necessary before their morning walk. He checked and double checked his pack – stuffing it full with scrolls, his tatty green rag doll, and a couple biscuits. His mother smiled at the full pack, knowing he'd have no room for any of the more useful flora they'd find on the way.

The two tauren set out in the early morning while the sky was still a soft peach colour. His sister and father had left hours before the sun had even considered rising. As always, Iyo had mixed feelings about Leda's hunting trips with their father. On one hand, he hoped she was successful for her sake. On the other hand, he hoped she wasn't – for the deer's sake.

Iyo ran after his mother, still shorter than her, but not for much longer. She smiled at him and ruffled his hair, knowing he hated to have it out of place. "One more question, mom?"

"Alright, Iyo... Just one! If you use up your one question now, you'll be on your own when you find a plant you can't identify," she cautioned. He nodded gravely, knowing there wasn't a plant in the forest he hadn't yet encountered.

"Will you tell me the story of your tattoo again?" He looked up at his mother and she smiled, knowing it was his favourite.

"Keep your eyes open, we can gather along the way." Iyo nodded and his mother began, "The Wildfield women have always marked important events in their lives with a permanent reminder on their skin." She ran her fingers across the swirls adorning her face. The skin beneath had scarred and the ink turned it black. No fur grew there anymore and the designs flowed from chin to temple. Iyo thought they were beautiful.

"The first tattoo is always small and secret. It is almost Leda's time," his mother mused before continuing. "My second was the clouds on my face. Do you remember why Iyo?"

He nodded, "Your apprenticeship. You had just finished."

"That's right! I remember being so proud of finishing my final test – I don't think I've ever worked so hard on an elixir before or since… I wanted everyone to see what I had accomplished and somehow clouds on my brow seemed appropriate. Do you remember what was next?"

"The flowers around your wrist."

She stretched her right arm out in front of them, the vines twirled and bloomed around her arm. "When my mother died, I needed something to hold onto. She loved the purple ana'te that blooms in the late summer. When we were young, she'd make the most perfect flower chains and we'd loop them around and around our arms, over our heads, around our waists. I'm sure we looked pretty funny – like walking flower bushes," she laughed to herself, lost in memories.

"And next?" Iyo asked, forgetting which followed.

His mother held up her left hand, where her second-to-last finger was tattooed in a perfect circle, like a permanent ring. "Your wedding!" he grinned, remembering. "Dad has one too, right?"

She laughed, "I remember he almost cried when he got his tattoo, but I loved him even more for agreeing."

"The last one is easy – the twin hearts on your left shoulder, one for me and one for Leda." His mother pulled aside the neck of her dress, exposing the tattoos on the front of her shoulder before hiding them away again. "What do you think your next tattoo will be, Mom?"

She laughed, "I don't know, Iyo. Something important will have to happen in my life first." He nodded and they continued through the forest in easy silence.

Several hours later, just past midday, Iyo and his mother reached the peak of the long sloping hill they'd been climbing all morning. Below them, the valley stretched on and on, its trees higher still than the peak they'd just climbed.

"Look Iyo!" his mother gasped, pointing down into the valley, "Do you seem them?" And there among the ferns and leaves were the little purple blossoms his grandmother had loved so much.

"Can we go pick some? Make the flower chains like you used to?"

"We have to meet up with Dad and Leda first," she answered, "but maybe we'll find some along the way. Keep your eyes open little one."

Iyo nodded reverently and they continued along the path down the hill toward the distant pillar of smoke that marked the hunting camp.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mooooooom," Leda whined. "Why do we have to?"

"All little tauren go to school. I went to school, your Dad went to school and even Chief Spirithorn went to school. Are you a little tauren?" Her mom gave her that look. Leda kicked the ground with her hoof, but her mom ignored it. "I rolled up some snacks inside your mats. Stay out of trouble!" The twins were pushed out of the tent and there was nothing to do except walk down to the village.

The best part of Leda's day was the short walk to and from school. She and Iyo were free to dawdle the whole way there and dawdle they did. Every day. Today Leda stopped at the riverbank – she had no doubt that their mother had packed only a mix of herbs and vegetables as a snack and was hoping to add a charred fish to the mix.

"Neat! Come look at this Iyo!" Leda held up a particularly leggy water bug, one leg between her pinched fingers and the others flailing wildly.

"Careful!" he cringed and allowed her to drop the bug into his palm. "Leda you can't ju-"

"What?"

Iyo sighed and gently deposited the bug back onto the water. "We should get to school, Leda. Miss Hahrana will worry and tell Mom again." But Leda had already knelt at the water's edge, scrutinizing the lazy river's depths like her father did when they went hand fishing.

"I've been wondering something, Leda," Iyo pondered. He had deposited himself at the base of a tree trunk and was busy cataloguing the plants he'd harvested in the 3 minute walk from their tent to the river. First by species, then by usefulness in a potion, then by colour…

"What, Iyo? You can't just wonder something and then not tell me!" She frowned at him and then turned back to fishing. A moment later, Iyo's reflection appeared next to her own in the slow moving river.

"Why don't we look the same?" he asked, stroking his chin thoughtfully. When Leda didn't answer, he continued, "All the myths I read say that twins share a spirit. As if we should have been one tauren together, not two. All the stories say Garaddon and Jeddeck could switch places and none would realize."

"Who's Garaddon and Jeddeck?" she asked, but Iyo didn't hear and continued anyway. Leda shrugged.

"If all twins look the same and we don't look the same… then maybe we aren't really twins?"

Leda looked down into the river. Her hair was messy already – Mom had only braided it a few minutes ago and already it was starting to stick out in odd places. Iyo's hair was the same colour, but shorter since he's a boy. Unlike Iyo, her fur is a light beige colour dappled with darker orange-brown spots. His fur is beige too, but spotted a darker grey instead.

"I don't think Mom and Dad would lie to us about that, Iyo."

She looks back to her reflection, frowning at the messy braids. Her own clear blue eyes stare back at her. Again she looks to Iyo's reflection, trying to see something the same. Leda looks back to herself. Her eyes are the same blue as a faerie dragon's skin. And Iyo's eyes –

"I see it!"

"What? Is there a fish down there? I don't see anythi-"

"No, no silly!" Leda giggles. "I SEE it!"

"What? I don't ge- Oooooh!" The twins both lean over the river and Leda catches Iyo rolling his eyes. "You see it. Ha. Ha. You're awful." He's quiet for a moment, studying their reflections. "But really, in the tale of Garaddon and Jeddeck they are saved because the shaman sees a common spirit through their eyes… and Jeddeck's spirit is stored inside Garaddon's body until his own gets better… If twins have the same eyes, then we must be twins.

A shadow swims beneath her reflection's chin.

FISH!

A splash and some friendly fire later and Leda has a real lunch to look forward to. Iyo turns his back while Leda quickly bashes the wriggling catfish on the head with a rock. She can tell he disproves, but he doesn't say anything.

* * *

"All right, my little minu'kas!" Miss Hahrana clapped her hands, "Settle down now! Bums on your mats!" Just over a dozen little tauren of varying ages scrambled to find the correct woven mat and after a few seconds they were all seated. "Now today, we're going to practice more letters and I have a new scroll for you!"

Leda rolled her eyes. Miss Hahrana was entirely too excited about letters. They were easily Leda's least favourite, although least favourite was also tied with numbers. The scrolls were passed along until they reached the twins' mats at the back of the class. They both sighed heavily – Leda because she still hadn't finished the scroll from last week and Iyo because he had already read the new one months ago.

She looked down at the rough parchment in her hands. The squiggles seemed to dance and jump around one another. It hurt her head.

"PST! Iyo!"

Her twin tore himself away from his own scroll with the tiny letters. He blinked at her a couple times and she wondered how he managed to read such small pictures.

"What's this one again?"

"Leda, you know that one. It's the same as it was on last week's scroll," he pointed at the first pictogram. "Look, there's wings-"

"A dragon!" she interrupted.

"No no no. Don't go making Ancients out of treants again. Look again, closer. There's antennas here. These dots below are …"

"Poo!" she giggled. Miss Hahrana shot her a look from the front of the class. Both twins sit up and study their own scrolls until their teacher goes back to adding hippogryph feathers to the leather headdress she'd been working on lately.

"It's a moth, Leda. Remember last week – in the end the moth saved the ogre because he was so small?"

"Ididntfinishlastweeks," she mumbled.

"What?"

"I said 'I didn't finish last week's scroll' okay?"

Her twin sighed. "Reading is important Leda. I won't always be around to help you." She cocked her head to the side, looking confused.

"Why wouldn't you be around?"

"I don't know! Maybe I'll go on a vacation without you!"

Leda frowned at that. She didn't want to go on vacation without him.

"What happens when we grow up and move away from the tribe? How will you read Mom and Dad's letters? How will you write to them and tell them you're happy?"

Leda frowned again, looking back at the scroll with the squiggly lines. The first ones were a moth. The second one was … another moth? No, there was no moth dust beneath it. Butterfly, then. She knew this story – The Moth and the Butterfly. The butterfly boasts to all the other insects that it's more beautiful than the moth and all the insects believe butterfly. They treat butterfly like their chieftain and bring him food and fancy clothes. But then the mantis comes and brings food to the moth. He explains to the insects that the moth is clearly the chieftain because he spreads the magic of the world, bringing beauty and wonder to all of Kalimdor. Mom said the story was meant to teach that you can't tell what's inside based on how it looks outside.

Grinning with pride, she elbows her twin to get his attention. "I know this one! It's the Moth and the Butterfly! Since I know it, do you think Miss Hahrana will let me go to snack time early?"

Iyo frowns. "Maybe you should still try to read it… It might be easier to read since you know what happens?"

Leda sighs and turns back to the scroll. Snack time seemed an eternity away.

* * *

((Author's Note: I had intended to continue on with the biography and move ahead to the twin's teenaged years, but baby Leda and Iyo were too fun to write! Let me know what you think. I do really appreciate any feedback you have!))


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The ogre attacks always started mid-winter after they had run out of readily available food sources. There had been two that month already, but they were half-hearted attempts. A few tents had been ransacked before they were driven away and there had been no casualties at all. Casualties would come later, when the ogres got desperate.

It was nearly bedtime when the ogres attacked the third time. The sun had already set and the twins were busy washing up when they heard the horn. It echoed through the village and was punctuated by a scream. Desperation came early this winter.

"Come on then," her father rumbled, holding out his hand. Leda slid her little hand into his and they were off. She looked back at their home; at the woven dream-circle in the bedroom window, the little hoofprints on the canvas walls. Leda always looked back.

Ahead of her father was her mother, carrying her frightened brother and nearly tripping in her haste to get to the village centre. Somehow Iyo knew this attack was different and if he was too scared to move… Leda didn't want to think about what that meant.

A pat on the head from her father, kiss on the cheek from her mother and they were gone.

The younglings huddled together near the biggest totem pole in the village. Some were sleepy, most were confused. They didn't have to wait long before the elders – those tauren who had survived countless numbers of attacks – herded them into the cave hidden behind the longhouse. Shadows of flames danced across the weathered stones. The houses on the south-eastern side of the village were already ablaze. The ogres didn't use fire last time.

With Iyo's hand in hers, the twins followed the crowd deeper into the cave until they reached the small room with the food and blankets. Little ones settled themselves in on the floor; to Leda it looked like they were used to the long wait. Before long, a few were asleep.

Beside her, Iyo looked calm and the elders paid them no attention. She could feel his hand trembling in hers and his eyes had that far-off look he got when he thought too hard. Leda didn't know how to snap him out of it. Some time later (a few minutes? An hour? Leda couldn't tell) Iyo spoke.

"This used to be an ogre cave, you know."

"What?" she hadn't been listening.

"This used to be an ogre cave. Maybe that's why they always attack us. They just want their cave back."

"How do you know it used to be theirs?"

"Last time I saw a room with ogre drawings on the walls. We walked past it again. I remember wondering where they got the brown paint."

Iyo was quiet again and the twins sat awake in the dim firelight, waiting.

* * *

Footsteps echoed though the cavern, jolting Leda awake. She didn't remember falling asleep, but her cheek was pillowed on Iyo's shoulder just the same. Iyo, too, looked like he'd been sleeping. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Sounds like hooves," he mumbled. Leda heard it too – obviously hooves and not the soft smacking of bare ogre feet. The elders stirred as the first of the bloodied and weary adults entered the small cavern. Greetings, hugs, blessings and thanks were exchanged and sleepy little tauren were passed off to their grateful parents. Some of the littlest ones didn't even wake up.

Blearily, Leda stood and yawned. Her butt hurt from sitting on the cold, stone floor and her neck was stiff. She offered a hand to help her brother up and he carefully brushed off his pants. They stood off to the side waiting for their parents, watching as the group of younglings dwindled smaller and smaller.

And then they were the last left.

Somewhere inside of her, Leda knew. A little naggling in the back of her head kept whispering it. Iyo's hand squeezed hers. She wondered how long he had known.

"Come now, little ones," one of the female elders smiled at them. Leda dreaded the pity in her smile. Leaning heavily on a staff, the elder gestured for them to follow her out of the cave.

It was still night. How long was this night? It felt like an eternity already. Above, the moon shone as it did every night and yet their world was so different. Fires smoldered around the village. Tents were crushed, ripped, destroyed. The western totem was leaning. The air smelled like smoke and something bitter.

They followed the elder in a daze. She was leading them in the direction of –

The nagging whisper in the back of her head taunted her. Iyo pulled her along, nodding and squeezing her hand. How long had he known?

In their little graveyard was a long line of tauren laying down on woven ceremonial mats. Leda counted nine. It seemed like a lot. She wondered how many had been carried off. The elder had kept walking down the line. She stood near the end of the line, hunched over her staff, clutching her shawl around her shoulders with a little wrinkled hand.

And there they were.

Their mother, beautiful and still. She had been wearing the dress with the blue beads. Leda knew she didn't like that dress and only wore it today because she had planned on washing the other dresses. There was a dark stain on her side and her foot wasn't laying quite right.

Their father lay next to her – Leda recognized the necklace he wore. She hardly recognized his face. Cuts crisscrossed his brow, a bruise was blooming along his jaw and his nose was crooked. So she focused on the necklace. He'd always worn it and Leda had never asked where he got it; what it meant to him. Now, she'd never have the chance.

"If there was anything of theirs you'd want to keep it would be best to take it now."

Iyo nodded at the elder, squeezed Leda's hand and then left her next to their father's body. Leda was the brave one, so she swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped forward. The grass was cold beneath her knees as she knelt next to him.

The necklace was little more than a strip of worn leather with a crude carving in the shape of a bird's head. Leda wondered if he had carved it himself. She clutched it to her chest and then flung her arms around him.

"Leda..." Iyo gestured to their mother. All he held was her small, beaded herb pouch.

With a deep, shuddering breath Leda stood and Iyo knelt in her place. She knelt next to her mother. She looked like she was just sleeping. Mom never wore jewelry, she always said her tattoos were decoration enough. But you can't save tattoos as keepsakes. Leda tried desperately to commit them to her fleeting memory – swirls at her brow, flowers on her wrist, the band on her finger, hearts on her shoulder. Swirls at the brow, flowers on the wrist, band on the finger, hearts on the shoulder.

Her mother had always said she'd know what events were important enough in her life to commemorate with a tattoo. Leda knew now what her first tattoo would be.

"Come now, children." The elder beckoned. "The shaman needs room to begin the rites," the wrinkled, arthritic hand gestured at the tauren waiting patiently a polite distance away.

"Can we watch?"

The elder looked to the shaman and at his nod, she answered "Only if you stay out of the way."

The twins settled in a few feet away from their parents. Leda clung to Iyo's hand and in turn was clung to.


End file.
